Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126299
"Approaching a jump you want to be stretched out behind the bars. " " Balance on the pegs with the balls of your feet for best control." " When the bike launches itself on a fast jump I lean over the bars." " A s the bike lands you can move back to the rear of the bike. still standing." How to ride like the Hurricane Part five Tricks of jumping By Bob Hannah as told to Jim Gianatsis "Learning how to jump a bike sounds like pretty basic stuff, and it is if you follow a few sim p le rules. First though , be sure that your bike is set up properly to handle it. The suspension should be adjusted so it just bottoms out on th e worst one or two jumps on the track, and then so it doesn't bottom out so hard it's going to 10 hurt you or the bike, If the track surface is really hard or you'll be coming down hard off a jump, you might want to add a little more air in your tires to keep from breaking your wheels. I use Sun ri ms on m y bikes and they have to be a bout the strongest. "There are usu ally two ty pes of jum ps, fast ones and slow ones, O n wide open fifth-gear type jumps I want to fly as far as I can, These are the kind of jumps you usually find on straights. You 'll see I come charging into the jump balancing on the pegs , hiding down behind the handlebars with my arms almost straight and my ta il out over the back of the seat. As I come up to th e jump I'll have the throttle wide open , then back off just a little sometimes as I hit the ramp , then get back on the gas hard as I leave the jump so the throttle will keep the front end up. 'J ust as the bike la unches itself into the air I stand u p a nd lean forward over the handle bars. I could sit down on th e gas tank if I wanted to , I'm so far forward . T his hel ps m e keep m y bala nce and a lso counteracts the front of the bike coming up. The throttle is off at this point after leaving the jump. "If the bike is nosediving you can correct this situation in the air by getting back on the gas and leaning back towards the rear of the bike. " By leaning forwa~d on the fast jumps, pulling on the bars and pushing down with my feet on the pegs , I can push the rear wheel of the bike down into the ground hard when it lands and be able to get back on the gas sooner as I land. " Slow jumps, uphill jumps , or jumps going into a turn req uire a different technique. He re you'll make better time if you can get back down on the ground as soon as possible so you can ge t the gas on and start moving or turning . Here I' ll stay crouched behind the bars the whole time, balancing on the pegs . If the jump is before a turn you'll want to make a front wheel landing so you ca n use your front brake as soon as possible after landing. " • (N ext week : Whoops and bumps)